MK_071819

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the mokena messenger | July 18, 2019 | 39
fastbreak
Football
Future Knights pack LW Central youth camp
STEVE MILLAR, Sports Editor
STEVE MILLAR/22ND CENTURY
MEDIA
1st and 3
THREE PLAYERS WHO
HELPED LW EAST
BASEBALL REACH THE
SUMMER STATE FINALS
1. Cael Geijer
Geijer (above), a
rising senior, had
big hits throughout
regional and
sectional play. He
drove in five runs
in the regional final
win over Chicago
Christian and
knocked in two
in the sectional
championship
against LW West.
2. Nick Merganthaler
The Griffins’ leadoff
hitter set the table
for a prolific offense,
getting on base often
throughout regional
and sectional play.
3. Tony Panzella
Panzella, a rising
junior with just one
game of varsity
experience, threw
four shutout innings
in the win over LW
West.
Lincoln-Way Central football coach Jeremy Cordell
demonstrates block-shedding techniques to
participants in the Knights’ youth football camp July 9.
Over 140 grade school
kids participated in Lincoln-Way
Central’s fourday
youth football camp
last week.
Central coach Jeremy
Cordell was thrilled to see
so many eager campers,
ready to compete and learn
even on some of the summer’s
hottest days.
“It’s a great turnout,”
Cordell said. “Every year,
it’s grown exponentially.
This year is no different
with 140-plus kids. The
kids love it. It’s an opportunity
for them to be with
their buddies, work with
our kids.
“We just want to give
them something to hold on
to and to get them excited
for Lincoln-Way Central
Knights football.”
The campers split into
age groups and rotated
through various drills and
competitions, each directed
by a few Knights players
and a coach.
All the Central players
who helped run the camp
thus had an opportunity to
work with each age group.
“It’s a lot of fun,” senior
offensive lineman Ricky
Dobson said. “We get to
interact with them, see
who the upcoming future
Knights are and see how
they work.
“It’s great because I get
to enjoy playing the game
of football and then I have
a bunch of kids in the community
looking up to me.
That means a lot to me.”
Senior linebacker Mason
Lyons said he enjoyed
interacting with some of
the kids he sees cheering
on the Knights in the fall.
“These kids are always
out here watching us,” he
said. “They see us get to
go out there and do our
thing. That’s really cool.
So, to be able to play football
with them and teach
them some things is really
fun for us.”
The youth players had a
chance to test out Central’s
brand new field turf as
they went through a wide
variety of drills designed
to improve their all-around
games.
Dobson and Lyons, both
captains for the Knights,
encouraged kids to be vocal.
“The main thing I want
to tell them is, ‘Don’t be
scared to be a leader,’ Lyons
said. ‘Get out of your
comfort zone. Everyone is
here for the same reason.
If you be a leader, people
follow you and it’s great to
have that feeling.’”
Lyons felt both sides
benefitted from the camp.
While he hopes the campers
learned a lot from him
and his teammates, the opportunity
to coach gave the
Knights a chance to perfect
their own techniques
as well.
“It helps us a lot because
we’re just reteaching what
we already know to the little
guys,” he said. “They’re
younger so they don’t understand
things as fast as
we do so when we have
to really break it down for
them that helps us, too.”
Participants in Lincoln-Way Central’s youth football camp
receive instructions from Knights players and coaches
July 9. Photos by Steve Millar/22ND CENTURY MEDIA
The camp was just one
of many opportunities
Central football players
have taken to give back to
the community this summer.
“We’re big on service
and being leaders,” Cordell
said. “The guys are on sort
of sub-teams over the summer
and part of the competition
with each other is
doing community service.
“We’ve had guys working
in food pantries, one
team did a [Lincoln-Way
Special Recreation Association]
softball tournament.
Our guys see that there are
a lot of ways you can help
out and give back, and
they enjoy doing it.”
The service time also
provides opportunities for
team bonding, a major
point of emphasis over the
summer.
“It’s important to get
closer as a team because
when it comes to game
time, everyone has to be on
the same page,” Lyons said.
Dobson sees his team
coming together.
“It’s been a good summer,”
he said. “I think
we’ve grown a lot as a
team and individuals and
we’re ready for the season.”
One day, some of the
kids who attended the
youth camp will likely be
preparing for their own
season with the Knights.
“We told our guys that
these are the kids that are
going to fill their shoes one
day,” Cordell said. “We
told our players, ‘These
kids really look up to you
and you’re carrying on that
legacy of Knights football.’”
LISTEN UP
“I feel I have to prove myself to the upperclassmen and to the coaches and
make a name for myself again.”
Abi Baumgartner – 2019 Lincoln-Way Central graduate, on returning from an
injury and preparing for her freshman season at Wisconsin-Whitewater
Tune In
Baseball, Noon, Thursday, July 18
IHSBCA Summer Baseball State Championship game at
North Central College
• LW East hopes to be playing for the summer state
title.
Index
36 - Sports Briefs
34 - Athlete of the Week
FASTBREAK is compiled by Sports Editor
Steve Millar, s.millar@22ndcm.com.